Working with two short quotations that use the word heart literally or figuratively prepares students for the module’s work. Over the course of this module, students develop a deep understanding of the heart, both how the literal human heart functions in the body, and how the figurative heart represents the center of the human spirit and emotions. Students practice annotation and evidence gathering to develop skill in close reading and tracking textual evidence for writing. This knowledge of heart and these fundamental reading and evidence collection skills support the writing throughout the module and build toward students’ performance on the End of Module Task.